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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24216853">The Safety of Your Arms</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfish_willow/pseuds/wolfish_willow'>wolfish_willow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stranger Things (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Post-Season/Series 03, Pre-Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Pre-Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Steve Harrington-centric, idk what this is</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:00:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,559</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24216853</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfish_willow/pseuds/wolfish_willow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve doesn't want to be alone after the events of season 3. Jonathan and Nancy go home with him so he doesn't have to be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jonathan Byers &amp; Steve Harrington &amp; Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, pre-stoncy - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>199</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Safety of Your Arms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the prompt: Stoncy - #8. bed sharing</p>
<p>Posted on tumblr. I've looked it over, but didn't get it beta'd by anyone else. I hope there aren't any glaring mistakes, lol.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steve is so tired he isn't sure how he's walking. His face hurts and he can't believe he got away from the mall without another hospital stay. He should probably have mentioned the truth serum when he was with the EMTs but would they even be equipped to handle something that secret Russian spies made in their secret underground lab? He doesn't think so. It had been long enough, the serum out of his system enough by now anyway that he's sure if there was going to be a problem, he would know it by now.</p>
<p>The path up to his house feels a mile long. He parked as close as he could, but his legs are sore. All that running around and crashing cars into people takes a lot out of you. Who knew?</p>
<p>"Are you sure you're okay?"</p>
<p>Surprisingly this comes from Jonathan who is walking beside him. Steve turns to look at him because his eyes are hurting too much to even think about moving them on their own. Jonathan looks worse than he has during any of their past life-or-death encounters with monsters. Not as bad as he had when Steve checked on him and Nancy in the ambulance, but even with the blood haphazardly cleaned off, Jonathan looks like hell. </p>
<p>Gesturing at his face, though maybe more widely than he means to, Steve shrugs. "I'm starting to get used to it. I think bruises work for me, make me look badass."</p>
<p>Nancy huffs from Jonathan's other side. Steve grins, ignoring the way his swollen eye and cheeks ache with the motion. Nancy looks as beautiful as ever; more disheveled than he gets to see her anymore, but still beautiful. </p>
<p>"What, you don't think I can pull it off?" he asks, sighing when they finally reach his front door. He unlocks it, not sure why he even bothered to lock it in the first place. It's not like he has much here he's worried about losing. It's not like his parents would notice anything missing.</p>
<p>Or maybe they would, maybe they keep track of every single thing just in case he loses or moves something. It hasn't been an issue before but he's feeling reckless tonight and he's seriously considering hiding one of his mom's stupid potpourri bowls in a closet just to see what happens. </p>
<p>"I think I'd rather you didn't get used to having your face smashed in," Nancy says. The words are harsh but her tone is soft, quiet. </p>
<p>Jonathan nods in agreement and his hand is warm where he rests it between Steve's shoulder blades. "You look better without bruises."</p>
<p>Steve warms, but he's sure it's impossible to tell with the mess that his face is. </p>
<p>"Come on," he says, leading them inside.</p>
<p>He moves to lock the door behind them but Jonathan presses his hand more firmly against Steve's back to keep him moving forward. </p>
<p>"I've got it," Nancy says from behind them and he hears the lock turned into place. </p>
<p>Jonathan continues to guide him to the stairs, his hand warm through Steve's shirt. It feels. Steve swallows, forces himself to finish the thought. It feels good, nice. He doesn't get much in the way of casual touches anymore, except from Dustin, but the kid's getting old enough that Steve knows they're going to become less and less, too.</p>
<p>Nancy walks past them, running a soft hand against Jonathan's shoulder. She hesitates a moment but does the same to Steve before walking in front of them both, leading them up the stairs. Steve's helpless to do anything but follow even if climbing the stairs is the last thing he wants to be doing right now. </p>
<p>"I've got you," Jonathan says softly. His thumb rubs back and forth against Steve's back where he still hasn't removed his hand. Steve takes a deep breath and nods, grabbing the rail in a white knuckle grip. The first step up isn't so bad. He wobbles on the second but Jonathan, true to his word, steadies him. Steve turns to thank him but the words get caught in his throat when he realizes just how close Jonathan's face is to his own. The staircase is wide enough for both of them to walk up side by side, but not so big that they're not in each other's space.</p>
<p>Jonathan smiles. It's small and tired, they're all tired, but it's genuine and Steve doesn't know what to do but smile back before returning his attention to the task at hand: getting to his bedroom.</p>
<p>By the time they reach it, Nancy has one outfit laid out on his bed. She's going through his dresser, grabbing an old Hawkins PE shirt she always used to steal when she stayed over. He swallows, but doesn't say anything when she faces them. </p>
<p>"Those are for Jonathan," she says, gesturing to the shirt and shorts on Steve's bed. It's warm enough that pajama pants would be too much. Probably a good thing, he's not sure how well his clothes are going to fit Jonathan. </p>
<p>"Thanks," Jonathan says, finally removing his hand and leaving Steve's back feeling way too cold. Jonathan goes to Nancy first, pulling her into a soft kiss that is over too fast for Steve to have the chance to turn away from. His chest aches at the sight, but it's so different from how he felt last November that it threatens to take his breath away. He's not heartbroken or angry, just a little sad. </p>
<p>Jonathan pulls back, picks up Steve's clothes from the bed, and leaves the room with a quiet, "Be right back."</p>
<p>Nancy clears her throat, but Steve smiles at her. She shouldn't feel awkward for kissing her boyfriend. Especially on a night when either of them could have died. </p>
<p>"Find what you need?" he asks. When her nose scrunches, the way it does when she's confused, he points at the shirt in her hands. </p>
<p>"Oh," she says quietly, "Yeah. I'm just gonna change real quick."</p>
<p>"Sounds good," Steve says, walking to his dresser to find something for himself.</p>
<p>"Just open the door when you're ready," she says, closing the door behind her. </p>
<p>Sighing, Steve opens the top drawer. He pauses to take in the shirt sitting at the top, corner of his lips twitching up. It's a shirt Nancy bought for him when they were dating, something soft and big that he always said was more a gift for her because she liked to steal it when she didn't insist he wear it to bed. He knows he didn't leave it in the top drawer. He hasn't worn it since they broke up but also couldn't bear to throw it away so it's been sitting in the bottom of his dresser for months. </p>
<p>When he takes it out the first thing he notices is how soft it still is. Smiling, he starts the slow, painful process of getting out of his bloodied Scoops uniform—which he is absolutely burning sometime in the near future—so he can pull on his favorite shirt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Steve, dressed in the shirt Nancy left for him and the old PE shorts that go with the one she took, opens the door. Jonathan's back is to the wall beside it, Nancy leaning into him, head on his chest. They look as tired as Steve feels.</p>
<p>"Let's get some sleep," he says, ready more than ever to climb into his bed and maybe never get out of it again. </p>
<p>Steve pulls the covers to the foot of the bed before falling face first on top of the sheets. He's not even embarrassed at the way he moans, muscles finally able to relax after what has been probably the worst day of his life—and that's saying something.</p>
<p>He expects them to curl up together on the side where he left the most room. It's a big bed, part of why he offered his house to sleep with how crowded and crazy it would be everywhere else. That, and he hadn't wanted to be alone, which he thinks they understood when he offered. </p>
<p>Instead of taking that spot, though, the bed dips on either side of him. </p>
<p>"Mmm?"</p>
<p>Words are too difficult right now with his body finally relaxing for the first time in hours. </p>
<p>"Shh," Nancy whispers, pushing at his shoulder until he's not so flat on his stomach. She curls into the space she's made. The way she still seems to fit so perfectly against him makes his chest clench, but he doesn't have the energy to worry about it for long. Then Jonathan scoots closer behind him until Steve's back is pressed up against Jonathan's chest. </p>
<p>Jonathan stretches an arm across the both of them, pulling them so close together that Steve can hardly move. He thinks it should bother him. Not just because of who exactly it is that's curled against and around him, but because he was tied so tightly he could hardly move earlier that night. This is nothing like that, though. Nancy is breathing into his neck, her hair tickling his chin in a way he never thought he'd get to experience again. Steve can feel Jonathan's heartbeat against his chest. </p>
<p>This is the safest he's felt in hours, days. Months even.</p>
<p>He's barely finished the thought before he drifts off to sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you liked it, please consider leaving a comment. They make my day! :D</p></blockquote></div></div>
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